chica qué
/t͡ʃika ke/from spelling rules
The phrase "girl what" is translated into Spanish as chica qué.
In informal situations, a common way to express this sentiment is by saying ¡No me digas!, which is equivalent to the English expression "You don't say!"
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃika ke/
Did you know?
- In parts of Spain, you might hear people use tía instead of chica to address a female friend in a way that mirrors the English 'girl'. It literally means 'aunt', but is used colloquially among friends.
- If you are expressing disbelief in Mexico, you might replace the sentiment of girl what with ¡No manches!, which literally means 'don't smudge'.
- The Spanish word qué shares the same ancient roots as the English word 'what', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷ-.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a surprise party.
- Sofía¡Mira quién llegó a la fiesta!Look who arrived at the party!
- Mateo¡Chica qué sorpresa me llevaste!Girl what a surprise you gave me!
- SofíaTú no sospechabas nada, ¿verdad?You didn't suspect anything, right?
- MateoPara nada, estoy en shock.Not at all, I'm in shock.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
